Wednesday, August 04, 2010

I'm sensing the consensus is that it's been a rough year and there's not enough to look forward to. Am I wrong? The upcoming slate looks weirdly anemic but that might just be because some of the potentially interesting films don't have set distribution plans yet (like The Tree of Life, The Conspirator, The Way Back, Rabbit Hole and the like) but things will likely clear up when the fall film festivals kick off. I dread what the Oscar list might end up looking like --is 10 really such a good idea? -- but between Toy Story 3, Blue Valentine (they're making you wait), How to Train Your Dragon,Animal Kingdom (about to open), The Kids Are All Right and I Am Love I can't really complain about 2010 thus far. How about you?

After a great 2007 and a few films that were unfortunately left out in 2008, it's just a bad coincidence for the Academy that the two years since they changed it to a top 10 list have been pretty barren for quality.

This year has looked pretty rubbish all along with nothing Oscar-y that I'm looking forward to - although if there's one film I can't wait for, it's "The Social Network". I have a really good feeling about that. And Andrew Garfield in it, so I think it's time to swap him and Timberlake on your predictions Nat.

I don't understand why everyone is going so apesh!t over Andrew Garfield. Nobody's seen him in anything major but ever since he's been cast in all these movies, he's the new internet darling. It's kind of annoying.

I want a bad year so badly. Such a bad year that AMPAS will have to nominate movies like Chocolat, The Blind Side and Ghost. It has to be really embarassing. They must feel the only way to save Ampas' credibility is to have 5 nominees again.

I have to agree with Anna, those are my three favorites too. I still have yet to see I Am Love, but otherwise I haven't been incredibly impressed by this year's offerings.

As for 10 nominees, I still think its a good idea, and I (quixotically) hope that AMPAS will dig deep and choose truly great small films to fill the spaces instead of mediocre films that made buttloads of money (I'm looking at you, The Blind Side).

Toy Story 3, Inception, and The Kids Are All Right are likely to still be on my Top 10 by the time the year's up (though I thought Kids had a couple weird issues... still a very enjoyable, insightful, hilarious, well-acted film).

And if Toy Story 3 remains the best of the year, that'll be the fourth year in a row I thought an animated film was the best of the year and the third of the last four that it was a Pixar film. Will that studio ever stumble?!

I don't get why people are complaining about this year so much so far. Granted, there hasn't been a lot, but we've already seen two masterpieces ("Inception" and "Toy Story 3") and one very good-but-not-quite-great film in "The Kids Are All Right".

The only film that comes to mind is Toy Story 3. Remember Me was okay. Cyrus was a disappointment.

Pretty much everything I really want to see I haven't or can't yet....I Am Love, Rabbit Hole, Inception, Due Date, Coco & Igor, Middle Men, Social Network. I really like Julianne Moore but I'm just not itching to see The Kids Are Alright.

BEN -- i think Pixar already stumbled (CARS) but they recovered so quickly that nobody noticed. To me that's a thumbs down. They're only movie i couldn't recommend. I just thought it so strained, slow, bloated and weak in concept. I'm totally sad they're making a sequel. ah well...

Shutter Island. I also haven't seen many of the films I want to, like The Kids Are Alright and Exit Through the Gift Shop. I'm really worried that if the year ended today, I'd be nominating films like Kick-Ass and Predators for awards. Save me, good tiny films I've missed!

cal roth, you crazy. Chocolat is a lovely grown up fairy tale and Ghost is tacky, whacky fun. I cannot defend The Blind Side, but I love the other two.

Inception is the only movie to come out this year that I even had the remotest desire to see twice (and did, thank ya much). So it's far and away my number 1.Toy Story 3 is a distant 2nd, The Kids Are Alright an even more distant 3rd. Cyrus and Shutter Island are the only other movies that I found remotely memorable as time has passed.

I'm looking forward to The Fighter, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Rabbit Hole (oh John Cameron how I adore thee), and The Black Swan (anytime we get a Aronofsky/Nolan year, it's a good year). I'm also a little bit hopeful for Corbin's second film "The American", we'll see...

Not sure when Certified Copy comes out in the States, but I caught it last night at a film festival and I feel like I've been breathing different air since then. And if it was possible for me to be more in love with Juliette Binoche, I would be.

Otherwise - I'm all for Toy Story 3, I Am Love, Winter's Bone and Kids Are All Right so far.

Loved Toy Story 3 and The Ghost Writer (I'm going to be bringing up Olivia Williams all year). Had some problems with The Kids Are All Right and Inception, but still liked them a lot. Even The Runaways wasn't okay.

I've definitely not seen many movies in theaters (less than ten?). Picking and choosing. Hope to see a lot in the fall/winter. Things will pick up.

Toy Story 3, Inception, and The Kids Are All Right are feeling pretty consensus-y. I also really loved Please Give and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which would rank #3 and 4, respectively, on my list. (The Kids is #5.)

My other favourite's are from film festival screenings and I don't know that they have international release dates yet. I loved a New Zealand comedy called 'Boy' and I laughed my arse off at 'I Love You Phillip Morris'. For me that was the funniest Jim Carrey has been in a long time.

Still anticipating 'Rabbit Hole', 'Tree of Life', 'Black Swan', and 'Red' among many others.

Inception. Such a brilliant idea. I know the movie has some flaws and the ending was somewhat predictable, but the execution was splendid. My favorite scenes are the zero-gravity hallway scene and the shot of the van falling down from the bridge in between the other scenes.

I also enyojed The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, I know it was technically a 2009 movie, but here, it was released only 5 weeks ago.

I haven't seen that many movies this year, though, most notably Toy Story 3 and The Ghost Writer. This year has been pretty busy with my exchange semester, the final season of Lost and the FIFA World Cup. Hopefully, I'll have more time to go to the cinema in the remaining months of the year.

I've been so thankful for the local film festival, which has thrown up a selection of films that I would gladly include in any "top ten of the year" list. I still reckon 2010 hasn't been anywhere near as bad as some are saying and could easily fill out a few Oscar categories with ease (like Director, Actress, Cinematography and Editing being the most respectable at this stage in my eyes.)

Dreamland, Brotherhood, The Illusionist, I Love You Phillip Morris, Life During Wartime, Four Lions and City of Life and Death are amazing cinema alongside I Am Love, Toy Story 3, The Horseman, City Island, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Fish Tank, Animal Kingdom, The Waiting City and Mother.

I would have to say Exit Through the Gift Shop for the best film of the year thus far. Amazing, inspiring, and truly a completely head-spinning film. If you haven't seen it, you must, as it's one of the seminal works of documentary at least in the past ten years, but even of all-time.

Also:

2. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work3. Toy Story 34. Fish Tank5. Winter's Bone6. Greenberg (the year's most underappreciated)7. The Ghost Writer 8. Please Give9. The Art of the Steal 10. How to Train Your Dragon

The last two to four probably won't end up on my year-end top ten list.

They should go back to five nominees at the Oscars. I thought that was a one-year sort of thing, and I'm very disappointed it wasn't. Because even though I was glad "A Serious Man" was nominated, there was really no point as it wasn't going to win from the start. They should stick with the idea of 5, because until there's a film that wins that's not part of the "core five" (i.e. the films that also have nominees for best director), it's incredibly pointless and obviously a marketing technique to have 10.

I have loved approximately nothing this year. Then again, I'm going to see I Am Love on Sunday (I'm just thankful we actually have film festivals over here), so maybe that'll help me get over my disappointment? I'm going to see Certified Copy, I Killed My Mother and Splice as well.

Otherwise, I'll have to go with Toy Story 3 by default. Saw Inception tonight, and I was really unimpressed. I wanted to love it, too. Ah well. Scott Pilgrim soon!

NATE- Well, the film never really clicked for me. It felt like a character study without it's main character. The film spends a lot of time on it's main character Malik (played brilliantly Tahar Rahim) but I never felt like a knew him.

I'm perfectly okay with long films so long as they don't remind me that I'm watching something that doesn't feel like it's long (perfect exmaple: The Seven Samurai) but I felt how long it was and it started to get on my nerves.

That and I felt the film lacked any emotional impact. Even with the last scene, where were suposed to get a sort of "Oh shit" feeling about it, I never got that.

I don't think it's a bad film; Just not a great film that many proclaim it is. I admire the craftsmenship put into the film and it has an awesome soundtrack but it never comes together like it should.

If you have any interest in seeing the film, then go. Don't let my words sway you away! Maybe in a few years or so, my opion might change or something like that.

P.S. Love your Alice in Wonderland review. I haven't seen it but I knew it wasn't going to be good right from some of the trailers I saw.

Winter's Bone is the ONLY great picture so far...Saw I am Love yesterday. It look's great. Tilda Swinton is PHENOMENAL (as usual) But the movie is (for me anyway) very cliché & soooo déjà vu (the final plot twist involving the oldest son is soooo Damage (the Louis Malle movie))

I haven't seen nearly enough movies this year, thanks to finances, but my favorites so far of those that have been released in the US are: How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, Inception, Iron Man 2, and Percy Jackson (yes, really).

My actual favorite movie of the year, though, is I Love You, Phillip Morris, but as it still hasn't been released in the US (though I was able to see it thanks to a UK DVD), not sure if that is allowed to count, heh.

I've not got round to seeing Toy Story 3 yet, but I suspect that would be in there if I had. So far, I've only really been bowled over by two films released this year (in the UK at least):

A ProphetFish Tank

Both films had such strong central performances (and some very good supporting ones as well) that really blew me away. Inception I enjoyed a great deal whilst I was watching it, but it had a quick fade.

I Love You Philip Morris and The Ghost Writer both surprised me by making me fall for Ewan McGregor again, and I doubt I'm going to see a supporting performance as good as Olivia Williams' again this year.

Looking forward to The Kids Are Alright, which I'm not sure when it's being released over here, and The Tree of Life.

Caroline, watch Boy A. And then watch the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The fact that he's in Never Let Me Go AND The Social Network AND the upcoming Spider-man movie.... he's a great actor who's looking at a wonderful year with high profile roles. I, for one, cannot wait.